Kyles Ford Fletchers and John McCain connection

Kyles Ford Fletchers and John McCain connection

In October 2008 papers reported that Senator John McCain went back to a Azariah D. Fletcher. I checked the census and there is only ONE Azariah D. Fletcher and he is living in Kyles Ford TN close to Anthony Smith who is the son-in-law to Thomas A. Fletcher.

I say they are close because they are 10 names from each other on the census sheet.

Azariah was born about 1818.Another Azariah D. Fletcher was born 1850 and this was the one reported to be the great great grandfather to McCain and whos grandmother was a myrtle. Anybody have any info on this????

Re: Kyles Ford Fletchers and John McCain connection

The Fletchers lived in Kyles Ford. I was there, I found the graves of Harriet and John Jesse Fletcher who I KNOW were part of my line via census docs. I spoke to the neighbors now living there including Mr. Dayton Moles who confirmed the location of the graveyard. I found the land deeds where they owned land there and they mention the landmarks there like the Clinch River. There is no doubt that they lived in Kyles Ford.

Rogersville just happened to be the nearest TN town where the county seat/court house was. That is why they went there for legal affairs. The courthouse couldn't come to them so they had to go to it. When Thomas A. moved across the state line from VA to TN he had to go to Kyles Ford for his pension which was administered by the state.

Re: Kyles Ford Fletchers and John McCain connection

Where they lived recently doesn't mean that they lived there 200 years ago. The address of the attorney was Kyles Ford. I don't think that the Hancock County Fletchers lived in Kyles Ford in the 1850s.

Re: Kyles Ford Fletchers and John McCain connection

I mis-spoke...Ben and his wife Harriet are buried in Kyles Ford along with John Jesse. Wilson is buried in Clay co. KY which is where Azariah D. Fletcher went (I think) and married in ajacent Laurel co. KY which leads to the possible John McCain connection.

The Fletchers were at their peak in Kyles Ford in 1850. Thomas A. had recently died but his kids, grand kids and great grand kids were still there in large numbers as the census shows. Around the time of the Civil War is when they left in large numbers. Probably to KY like my line did because there were coal, and salt mines there which brought the railroads for transport. There are STILL descendents of Fletchers living in Kyles Ford. I have spoken to them.

In fact, the location of one of two Fletcher cemeteries in Kyles Ford is on the land of Dayton Moles and his wife and I have spokent to both of them about this. Dayton's wife is a Belcher (not Fletcher) and a Blecher is listed as a witness on the will of John P. Fletcher.

Re: Kyles Ford Fletchers and John McCain connection

I don't know what address of what attorney you are speaking of. But I was in Kyles Ford again this summer and found more people who knew of and are related to the Fletchers who lived there. One person told me she went back to Henry Fletcher. Henry is a witness on John Fletcher's will. Henry was my gr gr grandfather. There are also two Fletcher graveyards in Kyles Ford and the census places them there. Thomas A.'s will said he lived in VA then moved to TN to be closer to his daughter. Kyles Ford is right on the TN VA boarder. You can walk to VA from Kyles Ford TN. Thomas only went to Rogersville to get his pension papers updated. Prior to that, he got his pension from the state of VA....where he lived then. I have a mountain of evidence that they lived in Kyles Ford. My docs are posted on my site, I'd like to see the address and docs of this attorney you speak of.

Re: Kyles Ford Fletchers and John McCain connection

I have read some of your postings on the Hancock Co and Hawkins Co web sites. I don't know who these people are that tell you that there were no Fletchers at Kyles Ford. I was born and lived the first 16 years of my life in Kyles Ford and there were several Fletcher families. Some lived in the 5th district south of Clinch River on Chesnut Ridge.This is my line: John and Catherine Curry Fletcher>daughter Mahala married William Cody (he was a Union Army soldier who died in the Civil War)> daughter Catherine married Ely Anderson>daughter Mahala Jane married La Fayette Lawson>daughter Elsie Catherine married Hugh Moles> I am their daughter Mary Jane Moles Goodman. I inherited a large ironstone platter that supposedly belonged to Catherine Curry Fletcher.Sometime between 1904 and 1907 my Lawson grandparents moved to Greensburg KS where several of their relatives and friends had relocated. They returned to TN in 1912 and bought a farm from Zeddie Fletcher that was located north of Clinch River at the mouth of Blackwater Creek. My Mother had all the original deeds and documents of previous transfers and sale of that land including the original land grant to John Fletcher from the state of NC. These were passed to my grandfather when he bought the farm. When he sold the farm in the 1940's, he kept these copies for by now deeds and transfers were recorded in the court house.Many of those records were destroyed when the courthouse burned in the 1880's and again in the 1930's. A few years ago, a group came and microfilmed the records that had survived the fires but I don't know what they are except some of the divorce records. These papers that I have are very fragile.If you have map of Hancock Co, about 3 or 4 miles west of Kyles Ford on hwy 33 you will see a road called Nattie Branch north of hwy33. In the 1930's Zeddie Fletcher lived alone at the end of this road on top of a ridge. When he died, his body wasn't discovered for several days. I have heard my Mother's sister (who lived not far away) tell of his death. Zeddie's wife may have been Harriet and they were not living together when he died. She had a son named Gilbert that I remember. If I can find the name of her granddaughter Hazel and if she is still living, I will pass that information on to you.It was interesting to read the family tree that you posted and I sent it to my cousin in Indiana who has been doing some research. The geneaogy society in Hancock has published three history books. Have you read these? Thank you for the information you posted.

Re: Kyles Ford Fletchers and John McCain connection

The best thing to do is to read Mahala Fletcher Cody's pension file yourself. It doesn't matter where someone lived in the 1920s, and family stories are often, but not always, wrong. Mahala's file indicates that her official post office around 1865 was Sneedville but that the closest town was Klondike in Hawkins County.

Re: Kyles Ford Fletchers and John McCain connection

1850's land deed showing John and Henry Fletcher owned land in Kyles Ford on the Clinch river. That is one of several I have. If that ain't Kyles Ford then where is it??? Didn't I show you those deeds once before???

I don't know why you have the theory that no Fletchers lived in Kyles Ford in the 1800's but you are the only researcher that belives that. Fletchers appear on 1840 the Census as well.

http://www.miproperty.com/images/fletcher/azfletcher.jpgAnthony Smith was married to Thomas A. Fletcher's daughter and he is living down the road from Azariah D. Fletcher. Thomas a. moved in with Anthony Smith. They lived on the VA TN boarder near the Clinch River, if that wasn't Kyles Ford, then were do you think that was???

Fletcher appear in the Sneedville and Scott co census and Kyles Ford is right between Sneedville and Scott co. VA.

Sneedville was the closest post office and for all practical purposes, that IS Kyles Ford. I have been there and found a cousin there, I sat in her living room about 1 mile from the Fletcher graveyard in Kyles Ford and she said where she lives, one mile down the road, is considered Sneedville because of the post office. Sneedville and Kyles Ford are just stop signs in the road so I guess Klondyke may have been the nearest "town"

Frances Howard Hickey is one of the most knowledgable people on this line and here is what she said:

"Hi Matt, Good to hear from you. I know nothing new about our Fletcher ancestors. I haven't been active in research for a while. Did you get in touch with Charlie Templar. Charlie did research on the Jackson's. The Jackson's were Benjamin Franklin Jackson who married Hetty Helton, Clay Co. KY residents. Their son Zachariah married Amanda Jane Fletcher the youngest child of Henry and Celia Bunch Fletcher. I understand that when Amanda died leaving two little children, her brother moved to Clay Co. KY to take care of the children. My grandma Laura Jane Jackson was the older of the two. Excuse me but I have forgotten whether William or Wilson was yours But at the time Charlie gave your ggrandfather as the one who came into Clay Co. to take care of the children and Aunt Florence Jackson married late and was still in the Fletcher household after 1900.The only direct word of mouth I know about Henry Fletcher was he lived at Kyles Ford and had two farms. One big the other small. My mother told me that her Mother's brother Ben Fletcher came and got Grandma Laura Jane Jackson Robinson to sign the deed supposedly for the little farm, but never heard about the big farm. Mother wondered if Ben Fletcher had gotten Grandma to sign away the big farm also. Grandma was near blind she could not recognize anyone across the room. Mother asked me to go check the deeds in Hancock Co. I guess to see if her Uncle Ben Fletcher cheated Grandma out of her inheiritance. I told Mother I would, but that wasabout 40 years ago. I'm still going to do that, if I live long enough. I'll be 72 in Jan. I still drive and go where I need to go but I don't drive on long trips anymore. My brother Charles will take me. He's 74 but left last night driving a rental truck for his ex-wife from Knoxville to Mesa, Arizona where their son lives. Talk to you later. Frances"

So, Mr. Jones, you think all of us are wrong on this ???? You think what Fances' grandmother told her is wrong, the deeds are wrong and the census is wrong and the fact that the Fletcher graveyard is in Kyles Ford is wrong? If they weren't in Kyles Ford, then where do you think they were?